18 | Influential Businesswoman Awards 2026 Real Estate Business Leader of the Year 2026 (Wales): Katie Darlow Based in Newport and covering the whole of South East Wales, Number One Real Estate is, as its name suggests, the region’s premier estate agency for residential property sales. Since opening its doors in 2020, the agency has succeeded by offering a traditional service spliced with some more modern and personalised elements. For more on what sets Number One Real Estate apart, we caught up with Katie Darlow, who is the owner, founder, director, and a sales valuer within the company, as well as being one of the winners in this year’s influential Businesswoman Awards. Contact: Katie Darlow Company: Number One Real Estate Web Address: www.numberonerealestate.co.uk In 2005, Katie Darlow, then a university student studying economics, was looking for a summer job. When she secured a role in real estate, she had no idea it would turn into a love affair that would still be going strong 21 years later. The early days saw Katie take every job she could within the industry, eventually working her way up to the sales director of her previous company, whereby she was responsible for 11 branches. Starting Number One Real Estate was Katie’s way of changing how clients think about their agent, as seen through its goal of being an ‘agent for life’ and having them return to Katie and her team time and again whenever they or their loved ones are looking to move. Alongside this focus on long-term partnerships, setting the agency apart is the fact that it was one of the first to adopt a self-employed model for its valuers in the area, something which has been very successful and improved the level of service provided. Katie explained: “On a personal level, my goal was to be the most recommended agent. And, through a continual goal to provide an excellent service on all levels, including marketing, presentation, and service, we are now ‘Number One’ by name and on the volume of listings and sales in South East Wales.” She continued: “We also achieve the best percentage of asking price in nearly all of the postcode areas that we operate in.” Alongside Number One Real Estate’s journey in this space, the industry itself has also undergone a major evolution, with more women becoming managers, valuers, and holding other positions of power across the world of real estate. This has been a welcome change, with Katie recounting just how dominated the sector was with men when she started. In fact, she told of one occasion early in her career when a client clearly did not believe what Katie was saying because she was a young woman. It took time to get noticed. Whilst it is still quite rare to have a woman owning and running a company within the industry, things are clearly better than they once were. However, challenges still remain, something Katie is well aware of having had a baby just a short time ago. She told us: “Our service levels are completely different now with us having to be available almost around the clock for our clients, which has its own challenges when you have a family, especially as a woman.” These pressures may be evident, but things are again changing. The industry as a whole seems to be recognising that support in balancing workload with families is vital for employee wellbeing, and Number One Real Estate is proud to be helping to spearhead this development. “In my firm, we have seen a huge rise in women valuers joining us as selfemployed valuers where they can now choose their hours, work on their terms, and earn far more than they ever could have done in a corporate environment”, Katie said. The biggest drivers of this change have been the need for increased flexibility without compromising on earning capacity or breaking the glass ceiling. Interestingly, this is not the only way that Number One Real Estate supports women and other key groups (such as young people), as it also offers graduate schemes and seeks to improve the knowledge of the next generation of UK homebuyers. Katie added: “I am always happy to offer work experience to anyone who would like to pursue a career in estate agency and have recently agreed to be a mentor for agents starting out with Agents Together.” Looking ahead, the goal is for Number One Real Estate to grow across South Wales and attract agents who are currently working for companies to become self-employed under its banner. The benefits of doing so are huge, and Katie Darlow implores anyone looking to become a selfemployed agent to get in touch to find out more.
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